868.00/1–1648
The Secretary of State to the British Ambassador (Inverchapel)
Dear Mr. Ambassador: I refer to your letter of January 16, 1948, quoting a statement with regard to Greece which Mr. Bevin contemplates making in the House of Commons on January 22. You point out that Mr. Bevin would like to be assured that in speaking along the lines indicated, he would be supporting our policies.
As I told you in our conversations of January 19, we are of the opinion that such a statement made at this time would be definitely helpful. Mr. Bevin will recall that on December 30 the Department issued a statement to the press pointing out the serious implications of any recognition of the Markos group. The statement made it clear that, in the opinion of this Government, not only would such recognition be contrary to the principles of the United Nations Charter but, if the country extending recognition were one of Greece’s neighbors to the north, the act would constitute an open disregard of the recommendations contained in the resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations last October.
I would appreciate it if you would also tell Mr. Bevin that we have been giving careful consideration to the details of the course of action which we should follow in order to forestall a recognition by the Soviet satellites of the Markos group, as well as of that which we should pursue in case such recognition is granted. We shall inform you of these details as soon as they are worked out.
Faithfully yours,